Etna man seriously injured in Aroostook crash

Maine State Police | BDN

Maine State Police | BDN

Rescue workers had to use extrication equipment to get a seriously injured passenger out of this one-ton commercial truck that crashed just before 11 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012 on Route 161 in New Canada.

NEW CANADA, Maine — Weather conditions contributed to a crash that seriously injured an Etna man on Tuesday night, according to Maine State Police.

Trooper Christopher Cyr said Tuesday that the accident on Route 161 took place just before 11 p.m.

Cyr said Timothy Mitchell, 26, of Corinth was operating northbound on Route 161 at approximately 55 mph when he lost control of the vehicle, crossed the centerline, and rolled over down a steep west side embankment. The roadway was glare ice and untreated at the time of the crash.

Mitchell, who was driving a one-ton commercial truck was accompanied by a passenger, Jason Harris, 25, of Etna.

Harris was trapped inside the wreckage and in severe pain due to his legs being pinned under the dash area. Cyr saidrescue personnel from the Fort Kent and North Lakes fire departments encountered a difficult and time-consuming extrication.

Once they got Harris out, he was taken first to Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent and then transported by LifeFlight to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. He was listed in critical but stable condition at 3 a.m., Cyr said. Additional details were not immediately available later Wednesday.

Mitchell was able to get out of the vehicle and was not hurt. The men were not wearing seat belts.

Correction:An earlier version of this story contained an error. The crash that seriously injured an Etna man happened Tuesday night, not Monday.